A Tale of Two Masks

After spending the night torn, and thinking it through all morning, Ashton decided his best move was to reveal the email to the CEO in private. At least this way, it wasn’t likely to become some big corporate midnight meeting where everything was decided for him. There was still a chance that things would be decided for him, but at least he would be present.

He headed to work with that in mind, and was quickly ushered to the CEO’s office to begin working in his new position. Luckily, once he got there, he was left alone with Amos Wyndart.

“I have something important to discuss,” Ashton told him before the CEO could order anything.

“Another one?” Amos asked.

It seemed that he had also been expecting this. Ashton hesitated again. Was it really the best idea to show him? Then again, at this point, hiding it would be even worse. He had given up his power to refuse back when he signed that contract.

“This one is an invitation,” Ashton told him, and showed him the email.

Amos looked it over for a few minutes, as if trying to find some kind of secret message hidden within the short text.

“Have you replied?”

“No. I was going to ignore it like the others,” Ashton answered. Things were going exactly as he had feared.

“We will find out nothing if you keep ignoring them. Tell them that you will go.”

And there it was. The CEO even typed his reply for him and sent it off. Ashton took his phone back feeling slightly bitter, but he had been the one to hand it over in the first place. He was sure that he would still had a hectic day of regular work on top of all of this.

And he was right. Amos dragged him around with him everywhere, training him in various tasks during the spare moments. They even had lunch together, Ashton getting dragged to a high-end restaurant of the CEO’s choice. No break from his boss felt like no breaks at all, and Ashton was incredibly drained by the time he finally got home that night.

He checked his phone with some anticipation. He had always seen the emails once he got home from work. However, this time, his only notifications were greetings from Summer and an upcoming update for his device. Ashton felt oddly disappointed despite how much he had been dreading it. He sent replies to Summer’s greetings and went to bed.

The next day of work was equally as hectic, with an extra task stacked on top. Amber Gale, the inventor of the power suppressant formula, was coming for a visit. It made perfect sense why. SI was her largest customer aside from the government. This would be the first actually important meeting that Ashton was forced to attend, and he finally felt his nerves kick in.

Contract or no, if he messed up a deal this big, Amos was sure to bury him. Besides, the power suppressant formula had always been something Ashton had coveted. It was a shame the effects were only temporary. If not, he would have saved up and bought some for himself. He would have even gone through the hassle of getting a license to own it. Unfortunately, the ever expensive formula only lasted a single day. Not that a whole day of being powerless didn’t sound appealing.

When she arrived, Ashton was struck by her confident and self-assured appearance. She looked to be middle aged and well in control of her life. Her assistants trailed behind her with far less assurance, but still a formal business persona ready for a meeting. In this setup, Ashton felt like an outsider. He was a fool working for a farce, helping them pull one over on the woman who almost singlehandedly made them safe from misused powers.

The meeting was more dry than he expected, full of numbers that he wasn’t sure what they represented. What was clear was that SI was paying a ridiculous sum, but it was still reduced from the price Ashton had researched. It made him wonder what they did with the formula. They certainly didn’t give it to the heroes, and giving it to the villains didn’t make any sense. It made him realize that he still did not know all of the secrets SI had to offer.

After the meeting ended, Amber approached them, seeming curious about Ashton. “Is he new?” she asked.

“Yes. Forgive him if he makes any mistakes. He is still in training,” Amos told her.

“Of course. He seems like such a bright young man. I saw him following along when we were discussing my improvements to the suppressants.”

“They are something I have been interested in for some time,” Ashton told her.

“Then why don’t you pay my company a visit?” Amber asked, “I can show you in more detail.”

“Trying to snipe my talent again?” Amos asked, “This one won’t be so easy.”

Amber smiled. “Nothing some well placed money won’t solve, I am sure. So, what do you think?”

The sparks flying between the two definitely did not give Ashton a good feeling, but should he sacrifice his chance to see the birthplace of power suppressants to hold onto some fake loyalty? Then again, he had to consider the dangers. She might be after some company secrets. There was no guarantee that she knew the truth about villains and heroes. She might want to interrogate him about it after that video. It was hard to believe she hadn’t seen it.

Deciding to take a chance, Ashton spoke up. “I would love to visit,” he told her.

“Wonderful,” she said, and turned to Amos, “You’ll clear his schedule for me, won’t you?”

Amos scowled. “I can spare him for the afternoon at most. One afternoon. And if I hear you forced him to stay past his hours I will be charging you for his overtime fees.”

Amber scoffed. “So petty. It must be hard working for a boss like him. I suppose I can’t blame him for pinching pennies. SI thrives on donations from the community to keep it running. With the sink in popularity, he’s probably worried about his own paycheck.”

The animosity was thick in the air until Amber Gale left. Ashton could still feel the tension tingling on his skin.

“Be careful,” Amos warned, “Amber never acts without reason. She knows exactly who you are and wants something from you.”

“How much does she know?” Ashton asked.

“Everything. Even about your alter ego,” Amos replied, “She has worked closely with us for a long time.”

It was both relieving and concerning to learn. If she wasn’t after information on heroes and villains, what did she want? First the mysterious messages and now this. What was so interesting about Shadow Phoenix that drew their eye? The only thing he had done different from all the others was quit, but he couldn’t see how that would draw the eye of Amber Gale.

Unless she had all of his training records too. Maybe she knew what his real power was. That idea made him feel a bit more relieved again. Many who had learned of his real power had taken to using him as a living battery. Perhaps she needed something similar.

With a theory that made a bit more sense, Ashton was able to concentrate on work for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, this time when he returned home, there was the email he had expected the day before.

“We will meet soon.”

As he read it, an idea occurred to him. A dangerous idea. What if Amber Gale was behind these mysterious messages all along? Ashton sent the message to spam, deciding to pretend he had never seen it. Amos had been right. He should meet her and find out what this was all really about. He would decide how to act then.